So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.
- KJV And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
- NKJV So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people.
- NASB The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.
- NLT The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The priest is glad and gladly takes the idols and joins the Danites. Self-interest wins out over loyalty or principle.
Overview
His heart was 'glad' at the prospect of greater status, exposing a mercenary spirit. He carries the very idols he had served, transferring his services to higher bidders. The Levite embodies a ministry sold for advantage rather than offered in faithful service to the true God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Prov 30:15The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
- Hos 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Ezek 13:19You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
- Acts 20:33I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
- Phil 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- 2 Pet 2:15–16They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- Judg 17:10“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” So the Levite went in
- 2 Pet 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 18:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.